Hockey is a sport that is played with a stick.
Hockey is a sport that pits two teams against each other, whose players use a stick or stick to propel a ball or a puck that they must enter into the opponent's goal ( goal ) to score a goal. The team that scores the most goals is the winner.
There are three major variants of hockey, as well as other minor ones: field hockey (also known as field hockey ), roller hockey (or roller hockey ) and ice hockey .
Hockey variants
In field hockey , each team is made up of eleven players: the goalkeeper or goalkeeper and ten field players. As the name suggests, field hockey is played on a field covered with grass, whether natural or artificial. Australia , the Netherlands , Argentina and Germany are some of the countries that dominated the most important international tournaments of this sport in the 21st century .
Roller hockey , meanwhile, features teams of five players (the goalkeeper plus four field players). The salient feature of this sport is that the competitors move on four-wheeled skates. Spain , Portugal and Argentina are among the most powerful national roller hockey teams .
Ice hockey , meanwhile, is played by teams of six athletes (five field players and the goalkeeper) on an ice rink. For this reason, athletes use skates suitable for moving on the frozen surface. Canada , the United States , Russia , Finland and Sweden are the main promoters of this version of hockey, in which a puck and not a ball is used.
It is important to highlight that, in all cases, these disciplines are practiced by men and women. Therefore a distinction can be made between men's hockey and women's hockey .
Ice hockey is very popular in the United States and Canada.
Common characteristics
Although each variety of hockey presents different challenges, since skating on ice is not the same as skating on smooth ground or walking on grass, there are certain principles that can be applied to all cases to improve performance on the field. Without a doubt, posture is one of the fundamental points in hockey, as perhaps it is also in all other sports: before learning to hit the ball we must know how to hold the stick and, for this, it is necessary first place to stand in the appropriate way.
Broadly speaking, we can say that the legs should be bent in such a way that our torso approaches the ground, forming a figure similar to the letter "z" with the body. Thanks to this posture, we achieve greater control over the ball and better use of our strength when executing the blows, but also when pushing our opponents, a necessary action to make our way, as long as it is not violent.
Speed on the field is another of the key points when facing a hockey game. Technique and control over the ball are essential, but if we cannot move quickly around the court then we will be easy prey for the opponent. To improve this aspect and the resistance of our muscles we must do strengthening exercises, complemented by a healthy diet that keeps our body in good health.
Learn to play hockey
One of the biggest difficulties for hockey beginners is mastering the moving ball, something that also happens with football or basketball, for example.
No matter how much technical advice we receive, the secret is not to memorize it and try to apply it all at once in the same session, but to make sport our life, practice it as much as we can and, the rest of the time, think about it. The commitment to sport must be physical and spiritual.